Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-08-06


The forty days of midsummer, from July
8 to August IL, are usually called dog -days"
in the almanacs. During these six weeks. 1t
has been supposed, dogs more frequently go
mad than at other times of the year. Sta
tistics donot bear out this supposition. Rabies
or dog-madness is about as frequent at one
season as another. The only requisites for
its spread are the incubation Of the poison
or germ which produces the disease upon
susceptible individuals.
Madness in dogs manifests itself in two
principal varieties-the furious and the
paralytic. Before the outbreak the animals
appear peevish and irritable or depressed.
They are restless and frequently change their
position. They lose their appetite and soon
show an inclination to swallow all sorts Of
indigestible things. They walk with diff
Guilty and peculiar trembling Of the hind
legs shows itself. Those dogs who have been
obedient pets lose their freshness and others
become shy and perverse. The mouth ID
covered with astringy saliva-therei is usually
a discharge from the nose, and sometimes
attempts to vomit. This condition of i'll
humor continues for period varying from
one to three days. during which time the
maniacal stage develops.
In this stage the dog shows a great ten
dency to disobey commands and stray away,
a strong desire to bite human beings OF
animals getting in his path, the voice
changes and there are undoubted hallucina-
TONS Instead of the usual short, interrupted
bark, the dog howls. The mouth and
throat are dry, the tongue and nostrils
swollen, the eyes red and sensitive to light,
and the breathing increased in frequency.
The paroxysms of rage are frequently in
terrupted by periods Of comparative quiet,
which gradually increase in frequency and
duration until the third or fourth day, when
the paralytic stage is usually developed.
The hind legs become powerless, the voice
hoarse, the pulse rapid and the breathing
difficult. The dog sinks into stupor, some
times varied by commissions, and generally
expires on the fifth, sixth or seventh day
after the outbreak.
In the quiet or paralytic form of madness
the rabid manifestations are either absent or
very much toned down. In other mad ami
mals-cats, wolves, horses, goats, etc.-the
symptoms are very similar 10 those in dogs.
In rabbits the paralytic form is most frequent.
When rabid animal bites another, or hui
man being, the poison which may be as
sumed to be germ capable Of multiplying
itself in the blood or tissues is inoculated
and gives rise to the disease In the individ-
ual bitten. This germ has not yet been
demonstrated, although the brilliant discov-
cries of NJ. Pasteur, of Paris render its ex-
istence very probable.
M. Pasteur has, by long series of patient
researches, demonstrated that the greatest
virulence of the poison of dog-madness re-
sides in the brain and spinal marrow of the
affected animals. He has also shown that
by q method of modifying this poison, 'cul-
tivation." as 1t is called technically, the in
tensity of its effects could be greatly dimin-
ished. Reasoning from the analogy be-
tween hydrophobia and other infective
diseases, the thought occurred to Pasteur
that possibly the terrible effects of bite
from a mad dog might be averted by
method Of treatment somewhat resembling
vaccination. After patient investigation
he published his results; and although he
has been severely criticised and even vio-
lently assailed by scientists both of his own
and other countries, the opinion of the medi-
cal profession is gradually changing in his
favor. A commission of the finest scientific
men in Great Britain has just completed an
investigation of Pasteurs methods and re-
suits, and reports that the claims which have
been made by Pasteur and his adherents are
sustained.
In man the poison of dog-madness gives
rise to the most terrible suffering, which is
partly physical and partly mental. The
most prominent symptom is spasm of the
muscles of respiration, which is brought
about by attempts to swallow, deep in
spiration or the slightest touch. Even a
light current of air striking the patient will
bring on an attack. The suffering pro-
duced by attempts to swallow is so intensi-
fed by the mental excitement that even the
sight of fluid will cause convulsive seizure.
Hearing the splash of water will have the
same effect. From this remarkable symp-
tom the name of the disease in man, hydro
phobia, meaning literally fear Of water, is
derived. There is good reason to believe,
however, that the fear of liquids is entirely
due to the suffering produced by the cOnvul-
sions attending the act of swallowing.
Hydrophobia does not follow Immediately
upon the bite of rabid animal. Usually
period Of from one to two months elapses
alter Tic DiUc pelOre any Syuptoius mduueSt
themselves. Most of the cases reported in
which hydrophobia broke out many months
or years after the bite are mythical, and de-
serve no credit. The disease almost invaria-
bly, proves fatal within five days after the
outbreak, during which period the horrible
suffering progressively increases.
In many cases which are pronounced n.y.
drophobia the diagnoses of even expert
enced physicians may be called in question.
This, however, is true in most diseases. No
honest medical man will claim infallibility
in this branch of his art. When the public
comes across doctor who processes never
to make mistake in diagnosis, he will be
good man to avoid. He is entitled to the
suspicion of all fair-minded and honest
people, and he generally gets it.
One of the difficulties in arriving at an ac-
curate diagnosis in cases of bydrophobia is
the well-known fact that the profound terror
of the disease frequently induces a mental
condition in which the patient imagines that
he has an attack. If as SO frequently hap
h. 10 th.s s,,Q ckaJ To